A ball sits on a ramp. Press **▶ Play** to release it — gravity pulls it down the slope! The setup: - **Ramp angle:** ~17° (0.3 radians tilt) - **Ball:** blue sphere at the top of the ramp - **Ground:** green plane catches the ball after it slides off Ask me anything: - *"What is the acceleration down the ramp?"* - *"Calculate the normal force"* - *"What happens if the ramp is steeper?"*

Inclined Plane Simulator

A ball on a ramp — watch gravity pull it down the slope in 3D

An inclined plane is one of the simplest machines in physics: just a flat surface tilted at an angle. Yet it reveals some of the deepest ideas in Newtonian mechanics. When a ball rests on a ramp, gravity doesn't pull it straight into the surface — it pulls it down at an angle, and we split that force into two perpendicular components.

The component along the ramp (parallel) is what accelerates the ball downhill: F_{parallel} = mgsin heta. The component into the ramp (perpendicular) creates the normal force: N = mgcos heta. Friction (if present) opposes motion along the ramp.

In this 3D inclined plane simulator, a blue ball sits on a tilted ramp. Press ▶ Play to release it and watch it accelerate down the slope, then skid across the flat ground. Ask the AI to change the ramp angle, add friction, or calculate the acceleration.

  • Acceleration down ramp: a = gsin heta (frictionless)
  • Steeper ramp → faster acceleration
  • Normal force decreases as angle increases

Related Topics

3D Projectile Motion3D Collision Simulator2D VectorsDerivatives
What forces act on a ball on an inclined plane?
Two forces act on the ball: gravity (straight down, magnitude mg) and the normal force (perpendicular to the ramp surface). Gravity is resolved into a component parallel to the ramp (mg·sinθ, causing acceleration) and a component perpendicular to the ramp (mg·cosθ, balanced by the normal force).
How does ramp angle affect acceleration?
Acceleration along the ramp is a = g·sinθ (without friction). At θ = 0° (flat), acceleration = 0. At θ = 90° (vertical wall), acceleration = g = 9.8 m/s² — free fall. At 30°, a = 9.8 × 0.5 = 4.9 m/s².
What is the normal force on an inclined plane?
The normal force is perpendicular to the ramp surface: N = mg·cosθ. It decreases as the angle increases — at θ = 0° (flat), N = mg (full weight); at θ = 90°, N = 0 (no surface contact). The normal force is what prevents the ball from sinking into the ramp.
How does friction work on a ramp?
Static friction prevents sliding until the parallel gravity component mg·sinθ exceeds the maximum static friction force μₛN = μₛmg·cosθ. The critical angle is θ_c = arctan(μₛ). For kinetic friction during sliding, the net acceleration is a = g(sinθ − μₖcosθ).
What is the rotation in this 3D scene?
The ramp (brown box) has a rotation of −0.3 radians (about −17°) around the z-axis, tilting it downward from left to right. The ball is placed at the upper-left end of the ramp. When released, gravity pulls it along the slope toward the lower-right, then it continues across the flat ground.